British Couple Detained in Iran Denied Care

What the family says is happening in prison

According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, a US-based outlet known as Hrana, Lindsay Foreman has lost more than 14kg, or 31lb. The agency says she is suffering severe vertigo, tremors and profound physical weakness.

Her family says she is now “dangerously weak”.

Hrana has also reported that Craig Foreman has lost about 16kg, or 35lb. He is said to have begun his hunger strike after phone access was cut off, leaving the couple even more isolated from their family. As protest options go, starving yourself is about as stark as it gets.

The family says the pair remain barred from contacting their children or other loved ones.

Supplies allegedly withheld despite embassy involvement

Reports say medication, glasses, books and basic hygiene products sent to Craig and Lindsay Foreman by the British Embassy in Tehran have not reached them.

Their family described that as a “direct violation of a formal guarantee previously given to the British ambassador”.

They are now urging the UK government to “act without delay” to secure proper medical access, deliver the withheld supplies and continue pressing for the couple’s release.

The FCDO has been asked for comment.

A family plea for them to survive

In a letter published on Tuesday, the family addressed Craig and Lindsay directly, writing: “Please remember that you are loved by so many people.

“We need your voices, your presence, your laughter, and your company.

“We need you well. We need you alive.”

The message cuts through the diplomatic language: two people are refusing food because, according to their family, they believe every other route has been blocked.

Lindsay Foreman’s son, Joe Bennett, from Kent, is due to go to Parliament on Wednesday to meet MPs about the couple’s case. He says they are “starving themselves because every other route has been closed to them”.

Why their detention is seen as political

Craig and Lindsay Foreman were detained in January 2025 while travelling through Iran as part of a wider trip around the world.

Their detention is widely viewed as an attempt by Iran’s government to gain leverage over the UK. That interpretation has become grimly familiar in cases involving foreign nationals held in Iran, where family appeals often sit alongside slow-moving diplomatic pressure.

For the Foreman family, the immediate concern is simpler and more urgent: medical care, contact, supplies and keeping the couple alive long enough to come home.